Author Archives: prestonv3

ACT or SAT?

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What made you choose the test that you would have to take? I think the best advice is to take a practice test for each and see which you do better at. There are books to check out with practice tests and books you can purchase as well.

You could also just go in to each test and take official ones just to see how you score, but you have to pay for the actual tests. You may do so well in one that you could find this the fastest way to be done with it.

You could also decide based off researching each test. There are four sections in the ACT and three in the SAT. The ACT is described as being more heavily a reading comprehension test. You have a reading, writing, and science section and the science section does not require a lot of outside scientific knowledge, just the ability to read the questions and answer based on what they present on the test. This makes it another reading section, in effect. The SAT just has the traditional Reading, writing, and math. This makes math worth 33% of your grade where on the ACT math is 25% of your grade. This can help kids make the decision as well.

The UC schools, like UCLA, UCI, etc., no longer look at these test scores which makes your GPA and extracurriculars more important. If you are only planning for these schools, I wonder if you will even bother with these tests anymore. If you want to keep options open, many schools either require the scores or list them as optional.

Best of luck as you make decisions on your future.

Revisiting Harry Potter

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If you are a teenager today, you have either read some or all of the Harry Potter series or you have seen the Harry Potter movies. Today, the novels gave way to a Universal Studios theme park, endless merchandise, and now a Broadway play. Why was this possible and why should you go back and read the series if you haven’t read the whole thing in its entirety?

The Harry Potter movies did not do the books justice, so if you enjoyed the movies even a tiny bit, you will thoroughly enjoy the books. The series begins with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It is not that this book is just easy to read. It is the longest book you will read in the shortest time. All of the series is like this, but the speed with which you will go through this book leaves you surprised and wanting more. The world is established, the characters are introduced, the reality that exists within the Harry Potter realm are all really well done in a super easy, accessible read.

You cannot stop at one book, nor should you read just a few and decide it is enough. There are seven titles, and you should read them all if you enjoy the first book. It is entertaining, intertwined, and really clever to stay with the series through the end. The titles go like this: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (called the Philosopher’s Stone in most other countries) (1), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (5), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (6), and finally Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (7).

There is an eighth book of sorts that gave way to a play I saw on stage when my family traveled to London three years ago: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The play is basically a 5 hour play and you can choose to watch it all in one day or over the course of two days as two regular length plays. We saw it over the course of two days and that was the right choice. Each play can stand alone and the stage, actors, dialog, and music are all made better if you have read the series. You won’t pick up all of the nuances if you have only seen the movies. You do not have to read this book before the play, in fact, this is one I would suggest to read after.

No matter your age, this series is one to go back to if you skipped it. If you are bored, there is plenty here to keep you entertained and reading.

-Preston v.

The Harry Potter series is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

A Return to Pokemon Go

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The popular game Pokemon Go, a free app might I add, is once again making a comeback in 2021. If you had the app and forgot about it, or if you never quite bought into the experience, let me try to explain why you may want to give this another go.

The Pokemon Go game is formatted to get you outside and walking. You have to go to Poke stops often located near parks, sports fields, hiking and walking trails like the Oso Trail, and even shopping centers like the Irvine Spectrum. Our own Mission Viejo Library has Pokestops you might want to come to visit if the game sounds like something you might try. Once you go to the Poke stops, you can spin the stops to collect items you will need to play. This makes you go seek out Poke stops and move around your city in order to play the game.

What you do in the game is try to catch pokemon that you would like to keep and/or evolve. It starts off easy to catch the little pokemon and it gets harder the better you get in the game. You will join a team once you have played for a while, choose your team color, and advance to placing your pokemon in gyms to get them experience and earn you credit in the game as well.

How far you go in the game is up to you and this is part of the fun. When you go out poke hunting, you will soon hear fellow pedestrians talking about the Bulbasaur that is near, and you will know you are part of a larger community who is also out there hunting as a part of the game.

-Preston V.